Micro-celebrity is a practice, not a status

Evidence

Terri Senft, in her book Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in the Age of Social Networks, defines micro-celebrity as “a new style of online performance in which people employ webcams, video, audio, blogs, and social networking sites to ‘amp up’ their popularity among readers, viewers, and those to whom they are linked online.” Celebrity has traditionally been viewed as something someone is, based on how well known he or she is; micro-celebrity, by contrast, is something someone does. Regardless of one’s actual audience, micro-celebrity is a way of thinking of oneself as a celebrity, and treating others accordingly. Micro-celebrity practitioners, be they professional video gamers, wannabe pop stars, YouTube beauty bloggers, or political activists, strategically construct their presentation to appeal to others. The people they interact with online are thought of as fans, rather than friends or strangers, and these relationships are carefully maintained to sustain popularity. The mindset and practices of micro-celebrity are made possible by social media technologies, which enable average people to gain the audiences of traditional celebrities. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 274

Categorization

• DEFINE: The canonical Senft definition of micro-celebrity, distinguishing performance-over-status and fans-over-friends.
• SEED: Angle: the shift from celebrity-as-being to celebrity-as-doing reframes every ‘am I famous?’ obsession of the creator economy — an essay comparing the status model of fame to the practice model.
• XREF: connects to: Achieved micro-celebrity is a deliberate self-presentation strategy, not a social position — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 277; Micro-celebrity status can be imposed by media regardless of self-presentation — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 345; Micro-celebrity status requires achievements, not just self-promotion — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 335 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Achieved micro-celebrity is a deliberate self-presentation strategy, not a social position #corroborates (0.95) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 277
• Micro-celebrity status can be imposed by media regardless of self-presentation #qualifies (0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 345
• Micro-celebrity status requires achievements, not just self-promotion #contradicts (0.75) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 335
• Micro-celebrities face scrutiny if they seek attention without commensurate achievement #complicates (0.75) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 269
• Audience reception, not content quality, constitutes internet celebrity #expands (0.70) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 92